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Black Torch
The Black Torch is a thieves' guild the World of Shaston. It is well-known and feared as the largest and most successful guild of its kind in all the world. History Founding and Early History The Black Torch was officially founded sometime in the early 1100s, although many of its founding members were operating in a makeshift guild prior to that time. Its head founder and guildmaster, known only as Just-The-Worst, was a well-known thief throughout the world already, and founded the guild in order to further her influence, give some structure and honor to the art of thievery, and provide a family of sorts to those cast out from the rest of society. The Black Torch was originally named for its members' strategy of extinguishing all light sources in an area before operating. As a result, the guild's original symbol was an image of an extinguished torch, which would occasionally be left on walls of hit buildings or printed on calling cards sent to marks. At some point, the Black Torch's symbol changed from an extinguished torch to a lit torch. To those not in the guild, it was originally unknown why this was. It was eventually discovered that the guild had at some point discovered or developed an enchanted Black Fire, which could be used to light torches used by guild members. These torches cast no light except for members of the guild, making them great tools for the thieves once the other lights have been extinguished. Present Day (1500-1600s) The guild is still run by Just-The-Worst, which is denied by all official authorities, as they do not wish to acknowledge she is still inexplicably alive, and would rather not to acknowledge the existence of the guild in general. Despite this, the Black Torch is clearly still not only in force but very influential. Any city or other organization that crosses them quickly finds itself dismantled and crippled financially. The main gulid hall, Blackscale Hall, is located in the city of Endi, and as such much of its influence is within the Grand Sovereign, although it does have some power elsewhere throughout the world. Curiously, the Black Torch is known to have some friendly ties with the GARDE, with some of its thieves also acting as adventurers and likewise the GARDE occasionally using its authority and skill to assist the Black Torch. In 1575, Just-The-Worst was quietly captured by Endi officials and imprisoned in a specially designed prison. The Black Torch contacted the GARDE, requesting assistance with a prison break and agreeing to take responsibility should anything go wrong. The GARDE accepted and sent a small party to investigate and break her out, which they were eventually successful in doing. In exchange, Just-The-Worst offered payment for the initial breakout and tribute to the GARDE to help their funding. Structure and Authority Membership The only way to join the Black Torch is to be contacted directly. Committing acts of thievery and earning renown are obviously helpful for an aspiring thief who wishes to join, however there is no way to guarantee a position within the guild. Some have attempted to prove themselves worthy by searching for the guild's hidden hall; however, those who have successfully discovered it are unable to recall what occurred within, other than knowing they were captured and released back on the city streets. Once membership has been obtained, one does not need to do much to maintain it. So long as the guild and its members are treated right and authority respected, there are no fees or the like that must be given in order to remain a member; although one may leave tribute to the guildmaster in order to curry favor. Each individual member is granted authority over their own person, meaning that they have the right to accept or deny a job as they see fit, without any negative consequences. Because of this, while all of the member of the Black Torch are undeniably thieves and thus "evil," they run the gamut between law and chaos, and do not necessarily desire the suffering of others. With Black Torch membership comes some protection from the guild if one is arrested, whether during a job or not. The guild is willing to attempt breakouts and hide thieves from the law, but generally avoids paying bounties and fines or interacting with law enforcement directly, although bribing individual agents and officers is occasionally used. Ranks Despite its ostensible goal of providing thieves with some structure and authority, the Black Torch only has one real rule: obey the guildmaster. That said, Just-The-Worst has established a sort of hierarchy within the guild, with lower-ranking member expected to obey higher-ranking members. Thievery or violence against fellow members is generally frowned upon, although displays of such skill may be rewarded rather than punished. One may also take such actions if they believe a fellow to be a deserter or traitor to the cause. Such action, if successful and the motive proven true, will often result in promotion within the guild, as well as monetary compensation. Jobs The Black Torch equally creates its own jobs and accepts them from others. Payment is required in advance in order to submit a job to the Black Torch, with the amount being calculated proportionally to the value of the item(s) to be stolen or moved and the danger involved, be that legally or mortally. Despite being an objectively evil thieves' guild, the Black Torch does follow some code of honor and morality, which is likely where its association with the GARDE comes from. If asked to retrieve or otherwise move something with potentially world-altering or -ending effects or consequences, the Black Torch will deny the job and will often also inform authorities of the identity of the item and the client. If this is discovered after payment has been received the Black Torch does not refund the payment, further disincentivizing the use of the Black Torch as an accomplice in great acts of evil. Authority Although very few will officially acknowledge it, the Black Torch possesses great power throughout Endi and the rest of the Grand Sovereign. Due to the great amounts of money and information it possesses, the guild is able to greatly influence politics and social law through bribery and blackmail. Those few who openly resist the guild are often quietly removed from power using the guild's influence. Although most political powers clearly dislike the guild, very few are therefore willing to speak out against it. Because the Black Torch generally acts very subtly and usually doesn't antagonize them, most common people do not mind the guild's presence, preferring to not acknowledge it or maybe even revering it. Blackscale Hall The Black Torch's guild hall is known as Blackscale Hall. It is located underneath the city of Endi and can be reached through a secret passageway in the city's sewers, although no one but the guild's members truly know of its location. On occasion, someone may attempt to find the Hall, either to try and join the guild or to try and dismantle it. Should they be successful, they find themselves ambushed and their memory modified, preventing them from recalling its location, before they are returned to the surface. They do, however, retain its description, and as such it is well known what Blackscale Hall contains. The main room is circular, surrounded by shallow water, with a circular platform in the center. In the middle of this platform is a burning cauldron of Black Fire, which is used to light torches for use by the guild, several of which surround the room on the wall. Several hallways extend from this main chamber to other areas, including the entrance, training rooms, sleeping chambers, and the guild's vault. Although containing sleeping chambers and other rooms that could be used for administration, Blackscale Hall is less used as a traditional guild hall and more as merely a meeting and recreational area for the guild. Guild members are generally left to their own devices and contacted separately when given a job, and as such there is no need for them to stay at the hall unless summoned. Among guild members, it is a well known fact that Just-The-Worst herself never sleeps at the hall; although she seems able to travel there at a moment's notice, discouraging speaking ill of her or attempting to steal from the guild. Black Fire The Black Torch is in possession of a mysterious Black Fire, which constantly burns within Blackscale Hall. It is unknown to most how exactly they came upon this fire, whether they themselves created it or whether they, appropriately enough, stole it from someone else and figured out how it works. The fire appears perfectly black in color and the flames themselves appear to absorb light, not glowing or sparking like a normal fire would. For members of the Black Torch, this fire provides light as normal, allowing them to light torches that only they can use to see and thus enter areas without being detected. To everyone else, the fire appears to cast no light at all, preventing them from seeing in rooms solely lit by it. The fire also does not give off any heat, although it can still cause burns if touched directly. It otherwise behaves like ordinary fire: it can spread if given a fuel source such as oil or wood, it requires a source of oxygen to burn, it behaves normally when exposed to air currents and the like, and it is extinguished by sudden wind, water, or pressure, or when its fuel runs out. Curiously, the main cauldron at Blackscale Hall never seems to require any fuel, and burns continuously without any need for maintenance. For more details, see Just-The-Worst. Trivia * The Black Torch and Blackscale Hall are based off of the Thieves Guild and Ragged Flagon Cistern in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, respectively, with some changes made to better fit the setting and original ideas. ** This is mainly due to the fact that Just-The-Worst is based off of the playable character in Skyrim. * Blackscale Hall's location within Endi's sewers is based off of the Thieves' Guild's location in Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance.